The agreement aims to exchange knowledge, best practices, and open joint reflection lines on new public and social intervention methods in housing. It also plans to promote technical and institutional exchange activities, as well as analyze national and international experiences related to the promotion and management of affordable housing for social purposes.
A key aspect of the agreement is the shared interest in studying European models of collaboration between public administrations and specialized social entities, inspired by experiences such as 'housing associations,' considered benchmarks in various European countries for the provision and management of affordable housing.
“"Access to housing has become one of the main social challenges for cities and municipalities. Stable alliances between administrations and social entities must be promoted to expand the response capacity to the housing emergency."
The president of the Hàbitat3 Foundation, Carme Trilla, has highlighted the importance of this social challenge. For his part, the mayor of Picanya, Josep Almenar, has emphasized the relevance of generating spaces for collaboration and shared reflection to strengthen public housing policies and explore new tools to address access difficulties.
The signing of the protocol comes at a time when housing access is central to public debate and social policies. The new State Housing Plan includes measures to strengthen the role of social and affordable housing providers, recognizing the importance of collaboration between administrations, the private sector, and the social third sector.
The Hàbitat3 Foundation, established in 2014 by the Table of Social Third Sector Entities of Catalonia, is a benchmark in the provision and management of social housing. It currently manages over 1,300 homes in Catalonia, housing more than 3,600 people, and received the gold award at the World Habitat Awards in 2019 for the best housing initiative globally.
